Rams Get Ready to Battle Bengals at Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles

The Rams moved on to face the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, which, coincidentally, will be held at SoFi Stadium, the Rams’ home field. They will become the second team to host a Super Bowl, following the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who accomplished the feat last season. Here’s how the Rams made the Superbowl stay home in L.A.

Turns out, it really was lucky number seven for the Rams.

Los Angeles broke a six-game losing streak to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon, beating their northern California rivals, 20-17, in the NFC Championship game and punching their ticket to Super Bowl LVI. 

Quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Rams (15-5) overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to snap the streak, which dated back to the 2019 season.

“We always talk about being totally and completely present, having a short memory for good and bad,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “Being able to hit that reset button. I thought our guys did that in a big way.”

Stafford, who was 0-3 previously in the playoffs with the Detroit Lions, continued his resurgent postseason, winning his third consecutive game and finishing with 31 completions on 45 attempts for 337 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. 

Now, after 13 seasons, he finally gets to play in the Super Bowl.

“I feel blessed to be able to play in this league for long as I have,” Stafford said during the  postgame news conference. “But I sure am happy for this opportunity, for not only myself, but really so many guys in that locker room that deserve this.”

After jumping out to an early 7-0 lead on a Cooper Kupp touchdown, the Rams proceeded to allow 17 unanswered points, and looked like they were headed for another early playoff exit. However, defensive tackle Aaron Donald wasn’t ready to go home. He rallied the defense, which came up with a couple of huge stops and allowed the offense an opportunity to get back in the game.

“I think it’s a great sign of the stars shining the brightest when they needed to and then also guys stepping up when they were asked to,” McVay said.

After connecting with Kupp for his second touchdown of the day, Stafford looked like he had settled in and found a groove. That is, until he flung a pass down the field intended for Van Jefferson. Jefferson was nowhere near the ball, which allowed 49ers safety Jaquisi Tartt a wide open look at what would have been a momentum-changing interception late in the fourth quarter. 

Instead, Tartt dropped the ball, and Stafford hit Odell Beckham Jr. for a 29-yard grab, in addition to a 15-yard penalty, on the very next play. The catch setting up the game-tying field goal.

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“I thought, ‘He f—ed up. We about to win this game,’ ” Tartt said. “I just didn’t come up with it. That’s a play I should make in my sleep, and I didn’t make it.”

From there, the Rams defense proceeded to overwhelm 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on the final two possessions of the game, with Donald leading the charge. He smothered Garoppolo and and forced an errant throw that led to the game-sealing interception by linebacker Travin Howard with a little over a minute left in the game.

“A Super Bowl is all he needs and he can walk off into the sunset,” linebacker Von Miller said of Donald, “and I’m going to do everything in my power to make that happen for him.”

Beckham, for his part, had his best performance in a Rams uniform after being acquired from the Cleveland Browns midway through the season. He finished with 9 catches for 113 yards, and will now be playing in his first Super Bowl.

“Everything about this place is right, and it’s done right,” Beckham said. “It’s just been an incredible opportunity that I feel like I’m just trying to make the most of. Here we are playing in the Super Bowl, one game away from our dreams. Just keep going.”

Super Bowl LVI will be broadcast live on NBC at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 13 from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.